Ryanair to cut flights at Stansted

Ryanair plans to cut its use of London Stansted this winter — blaming high passenger taxes and rising charges for a fall in demand at the airport.

The low-cost airline said it will reduce its capacity at the facility by 14% compared with the same period last year, because a £10 air passenger duty is "devastating" British tourism. The reduced winter schedule represents a steep 40% cut on Ryanair's use of Stansted during the summer months, because it adds to the typical seasonal fall in activity.

The Dublin-based airline said it will operate 24 aircraft out of Stansted from October, compared with 28 last winter, and 40 this summer. It said the move could cost 2,500 jobs at the airport — from its own staff as well as other workers such as baggage handlers.

Chief executive Michael O'Leary said aircraft would be moved to bases elsewhere in Europe where governments are scrapping passenger taxes to stimulate tourism. "The decision of the goons Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling to tax tourists instead of welcoming them ... has caused a wholesale collapse in British traffic and tourism," he said.

"People have to pay £10 just for the privilege of getting on and off this rain-sodden and weather-beaten island."

Ryanair has asked the government to scrap the passenger charge, but a Treasury spokesman said there are no plans to amend it: "Air passenger duty is about helping protect the environment for future generations and contributing to funding our all-important public services," he said.

Ryanair's cuts are forecast to reduce passenger numbers at Stansted by 2.5 million between October and March, but O'Leary insists the move does not reflect lower demand at the fast-expanding airline.

He also rejected suggestions that swine flu fears will reduce passenger numbers, and derided government claims the recession is reducing demand for air travel.

O'Leary said increased bookings at Ryanair are proof that reported falls in air travel are because passengers are shunning high costs, not air travel in general.

Ryanair enjoyed a 9% increase in traffic in the first half of this year, compared with an 8% fall at BAA-owned airports — which include Stansted and Heathrow. The airline said it had asked BAA to slash its Stansted airport charge of £15 a departure, but the Spanish-controlled airport operator has refused.

"At Spanish airports this winter, the cost will be zero. Why is Spain reducing its airport costs to zero, while a Spanish-run airport monopoly in the UK is saying: 'No, in a recession we think we should charge you the same high costs as we charged all summer long'?" asked O'Leary.

Ryanair has indicated it will relocate flights to Spain and Italy, but is yet to decide which routes out of Stansted will be cut.

Stansted Airport, which is Ryanair's busiest hub, played down the impact of the airline's planned cuts: "It is common practice for them to reduce frequency to various destinations during the winter season, as they have done in previous years. We have factored this potential outcome into our latest passenger forecasts," said managing director Stewart Wingate. "Stansted has been good for Ryanair and in turn, Ryanair has been good for Stansted — flying nearly five million passengers to destinations across Europe in 2008."

Ryanair has fared better than most airlines in the recession and has managed to expand as passengers shun more expensive airlines. Business travel has been particularly hard hit during the downturn with companies cutting air travel costs, and buying cheaper tickets.

US-based Continental Airlines today announced 1,700 job cuts, blaming a drop in business travel and fears about swine flu.